U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL) Shares Climb 1.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• U-Haul shares rose 1.2% to about $60.89 on above-average trading volume, while remaining below their 50-day moving average of $68.18.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $85 price target; Citizens JMP set a $90 target and Citigroup initiated coverage with an outperform rating.
• U-Haul’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, reporting $0.58 EPS versus the $0.85 consensus on $1.68 billion in revenue, while institutional investors hold 3.63% of the stock.

U-Haul Holding Company (NYSE:UHAL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1.2% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $61.10 and last traded at $60.8880. 192,785 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 42% from the average session volume of 135,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UHAL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of U-Haul from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of U-Haul in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "mkt outperform" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of U-Haul from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of U-Haul in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

U-Haul Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 434.95 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $68.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.40.

U-Haul (NYSE:UHAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.27). U-Haul had a return on equity of 0.81% and a net margin of 1.05%.The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that U-Haul Holding Company will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On U-Haul

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UHAL. Deltroit Asset Management UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of U-Haul in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,182,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of U-Haul by 127.8% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 34,159 shares of the company's stock worth $1,722,000 after buying an additional 19,165 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in U-Haul by 28.9% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 11,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in U-Haul in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $709,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in U-Haul during the 1st quarter worth approximately $651,000. Institutional investors own 3.63% of the company's stock.

About U-Haul

U-Haul Holding Company, formerly known as AMERCO, is the parent company of U-Haul, a provider of do-it-yourself moving and storage services. The company rents trucks, trailers, towing equipment and moving supplies to residential and commercial customers, with equipment available through company-operated locations and a network of independent dealers.

U-Haul also offers self-storage, portable storage through its U-Box service, moving labor and related services. Its operations are primarily focused on the United States and Canada, supporting customers who are moving locally or across long distances.

Leonard Shoen founded U-Haul in 1945.

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